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demonic 
"Cinemaniac"
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 Posted - 12/09/2008 : 13:37:35
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Waltz With Bashir
Seemingly no one else has mentioned this astonishing film yet on the Fourum, so I thought it was overdue a resounding recommendation, not only as one of the most visually beautiful films I've seen this year, but also in its final impact one of the most powerful.
I was particularly interested because of my love of animation, but I was also intrigued by the idea of an animated documentary, and one about the volatile, difficult wars of Israel and the Middle East. What I was concerned would be a gimmick was forgotten very quickly when it became clear that the animation was integral; Ari Folman, the director, is an artist and expresses himself through the pencil. It also perfectly represents the nature of a story about lost and suppressed memories; the thick lines and vivid colours take the way we remember events down to their essence. The problem of a twenty-five year age gap in the recollections of Folman's friends is solved as well; all the interviewees are drawn as their younger selves.
Their stories are frequently gripping and always visually arresting, flipping between Folman's present day search for his involvement in the Israeli/Lebanon war of 1982, specifically the night of an infamous massacre, and the memories of his fellow soldiers. It's a remarkably even handed account, even though there are no viewpoints from the opposing side. Folman pulls no punches when he comes to criticise the actions of his superiors and the government of the time. Knowledge of the war itself is not essential although I would have found a little more background useful, but then it is made clear that many of the young soldiers didn't have much of an idea what was going on at the time either.
SPOILERS!
[In a film full of wonders the last few minutes make the strongest point. Having become so numbed to the daily sight of atrocities and grief on the news it is almost impossible not to view such scenes with much more than pity and a vague interest. All the more surprising when the final shots of this film hit hard; the artifice and the beauty of the animation is pulled away to present real footage of grieving women following the massacre; it's an astonishing revelation and feels like a slap in the face. I'd defy anyone unprepared for this shift not to be profoundly moved].
If you get the chance, see this film. I highly recommend it.
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Edited by - demonic on 12/11/2008 19:06:16 |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 12/09/2008 : 22:34:32
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quote:
Originally posted by dem9nic
I highly recommended it.
Do you no longer recommend it?!  |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 12/10/2008 15:48:59 |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 12/09/2008 : 22:50:09
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| Say what? |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 12/11/2008 : 04:25:33
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Yes, it's excellent and interesting. The restricted colour palette works very well. There's something very particular about grey and yellow together, I guess from the juxtaposition of the stereotypically negative and positive connotations. You're right about the especially impactful moment that you mention.
For a variety of reasons, I slightly prefer Persepolis, but this one is still a 5/5. |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 12/11/2008 : 19:05:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by dem9nic
I highly recommended it.
Do you no longer recommend it?!
Oh, I see. That's what happens when you change tense on an edit without paying attention... |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 12/11/2008 : 20:49:13
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| I do the same all the time. |
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 12/18/2008 : 17:40:44
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Just saw this astonishing film and agree with dem9nic about its execution [pun unintended] and powerful effect, especially the end. It reminded me in style of some of the war comics I used to sneak-read as a kid -- not the themes, for sure, but the way this kind of graphic concentrates so completely on the essence of images.
The expertise of the animators here is quite astounding, especially with some of the water fx. There's a bg shot of waves crashing that's breathtaking.
But, of course, it's the film's themes and messages which rightly dominate. We're so under informed about what really goes on in the labyrinth of the Middle East. It's films like this that can help us understand. Perhaps they can even beckon in another generation to pay attention. Though I may be too optimistic.
People speaking their own thoughts provides a particularly powerful narrative so it's churlish of me to mention Ronny Dayag, whose accounting I thought especially moving. But the whole story comes straight from the heart of the people.
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 12/18/2008 17:50:51 |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 01/12/2009 : 03:30:31
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| Not that I think the big awards ceremonies always hit the mark, but I just wanted to give a big huzzah for "Waltz" picking up the Best Foreign Language Golden Globe tonight. A worthy winner in a very strong category. Next up... Oscar. |
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GHcool 
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 01/12/2009 : 07:18:49
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I saw this film at the AFI Film Festival a couple of months ago and it stayed with me since then. This is not your typical war movie, nor is it your typical animated film. I'd say its kind of a cross between Waking Life and Grave of the Fireflies.
Like Waking Life, there is no "plot." The filmmaker prefers a more interview-based film. This is an "idea film," a poetic film, and traditional narrative style takes a back seat.
Like Grave of the Fireflies, the animation in Waltz With Bashir shows the horror of war and its effect on individuals in ways that a live action representation could never replicate. The film's themes of human memory and its elasticity are served well by this technique. Rather than a soldier escaping death, we get the larger-than-life memory of a soldier escaping death that would look too "real" in a live action reenactment. |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/12/2009 : 07:32:41
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Well, how about that? An Israeli movie wins an award DESPITE the fact that we're on the world's shit-list at the moment. That must be a first for us!
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/12/2009 : 17:37:01
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
An Israeli movie wins an award DESPITE the fact that we're on the world's shit-list at the moment. That must be a first for us!
Well, Fahrenheit 9/11 won awards while George Bush was unpopular. 
I was talking to someone the other day who was livid at the supposed hypocrisy of this film in conjunction with the current Israeli action. She kept talking about an homogenous "they". It annoyed me so much. She also insisted on metaphorically using terms like "concentration camp" and "Nazis". Unlike some people round here, I don't approve of throwing terms like that around. |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 01/12/2009 23:22:53 |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 01/13/2009 : 06:16:57
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
Well, how about that? An Israeli movie wins an award DESPITE the fact that we're on the world's shit-list at the moment. That must be a first for us!
From an article in Ha'Aretz, the Israeli equivalent of The New York Times:
"Did the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association send in their votes before the current war broke out or while it was already underway? Would this have affected their choice? It is hard to know, because this is, after all, America, and "Waltz with Bashir" is, as mentioned, a film loaded with ideological ambivalence, which works in its favor." |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/13/2009 : 08:27:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
An Israeli movie wins an award DESPITE the fact that we're on the world's shit-list at the moment. That must be a first for us!
Well, Fahrenheit 9/11 won awards while George Bush was unpopular.
I was talking to someone the other day who was livid at the supposed hypocrisy of this film in conjunction with the current Israeli action.
Strange reaction, actually. Sounds like she really didn't understand the film.
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/13/2009 : 16:24:46
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| She hadn't seen it, in fact! |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 01/14/2009 : 03:00:25
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| Wow. Getting livid about something you know nothing about is quite a feat. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/14/2009 : 03:13:40
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| Well, she was mainly livid about the Israeli action, and saw the film as being from a different viewpoint, which I would say was accurate enough. (I didn't find it particularly ideologically ambivalent.) However, it still of course was not meaningful to add it to her objections about the current events. She was easy enough to convince on that front; it took a bit longer to persuade her that it was neither accurate nor productive to describe anyone involved as "Nazis". |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 01/14/2009 03:14:17 |
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Waltz With Bashir
